Colour Deficiency
by IWillBelieveIt If I CanDreamIt
Summary: Sequel to Aromatic Vision. As promised Lin has gone over to Mai's to help her label her clothing. Join them as they laugh, cry, learn some shocking truths and are just their lovable selves. and just to make everything better, Naru joins in on the fun.( I have no idea what to put for the summery. its a lot better then it sounds, please read) I don't own the picture.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm leaving now" Mai called out, picking up her bag from under the desk.

"Mai, make some tea before you leave" Naru ordered, voice muffled though the closed door.

With a put-upon sigh Mai shuffled into the small kitchenette "Hai Hai" she grumbled, pouting as she put the water on to boil. ' _Stupid workaholic Narcissist, needing his caffeine fix'_ she cursed her employer.

"Mai?" she heard Lin calling out her name. Curious she made sure the tea was safe before going to check on the elder man.

"Yes Lin?" she pocked her head around his officer door. Despite them using fist names earlier in the day, she found it weird so had stuck to his surname, just with the suffix dropped. Lin didn't seem to mind her doing it, so she figured it was safe.

"Is there anything I need to bring to dinner tonight?" He asked her, ceasing his typing for the moment.

"Ummm" Mai trailed off, her right hand coming to cup her chin, lost in thought. Snapping her fingers when she thought of something.

"Pens. I don't have any none washable ink pens" she told him, tilting her head slightly as she smiled.

A small smile tugged at Lin's lips "I mean food or drink wise Mai, but I will bring the pens" he told her amused.

Mai flushed at the misunderstanding, feeling a little stupid she had missed that in the question.

"Oh, no. Once Naru's tea is done, I'm going to the shops to get a few groceries. Everything thing else is catered for" Mai rushed to tell him, taking a step back, holding her hands up and shaking her head.

"Alright" Lin nodded, smiling a little wider. Thankfully the kettle began its incessant whistling, pulling Mai back into the kitchen, saving her from further embarrassment.

Now back in the kitchen, Mai made quick work preparing Naru's tea so his specifications before gingerly walking into his office, making an effort not to spill anything on the way.

Once the cup had been carefully deposited onto the coaster upon her bosses' desk, she stepped back, crossing her arms across her chest in a huff. Tapping her foot impatiently, wanting her long awaited thank you.

"What?" Naru asked sounding a little peeved, looking over the paper work littering his desk.

"A thank you would be nice" she ground out.

"And I would like some peace and quiet but your still here so I guess neither of us get what we want" he told her calmly, picking one of the documents.

"Why you!" Mai stomped her foot, fists clenched as her side. Just as she went to lecture him on manners, she caught sight of the time and gasped.

"Gotta go, see you Naru" she waved, running out his office, picking up her neglected bag.

"Bye" she yelled, slamming the door behind her as he ran down the stairs into the street. Leaving an amused Lin and an exasperated Naru.

An hour and a half later Mai stumbled through her front door, arms over loaded with shopping bags.

"I sure got a good haul today" she chirped happily, putting the bags onto the floor and rolling her shoulders. There had been a lot of sales and offers on at the supermarket today so she managed to get all the ingredients needed at half price or lower.

Taking a moment to look around her apartment, she realised she would need to tidy up a little before she even started on dinner. _'I can do this!'_ she balled her hand into a fist, cheering herself on, slipping her shoes off and popping on some slippers.

With renewed energy, she picked up her shopping and made her way through living room and into her small but modest kitchen, dumping the bags on to her dining room table. Once satisfied they wouldn't fall off, she wandered back into her living room and picked up the few text books she had left lying around in there. Fluffing the pillows as she went.

Mai wasn't a messy person by nature but neither was she an organised one. It was more a case of leaving things where she had been working on them or placing them on a shelf, out of the way of her feet but in direct line if sight so she wouldn't forget it. Personally, she thought it gave the apartment more a of homely feel, like someone lived there and kept the place looked after. Rather than the gaudy images you see in home mags. Places you would be too scared to stand in let alone live.

Despite that, she didn't want to give Lin the wrong impression. She livid modestly and knew he was aware she was on orphan, so she didn't want him coming here thinking she couldn't look after herself. It helped she was living in a semi nice neighbourhood as it made her feel proud to be able to live there. She wanted to show that pride as well as keep the homely feel to it and she hoped her apartment reflected that.

Done with the living toom she then moved to the bathroom and straightened everything in there and put a fresh roll of toilet paper and towels in before moving onto the bedroom. Picking up discarded cloths and moving some items around. She thought of putting a wash on but realised she would need them to be labelled, so left them as a little pile on her head to be done first.

Taking once last run through of the house, checking things were in the correct places. Mai began to feel excited about what they were doing. She hadn't cooked for someone in a really long time. The last time must have been about two or three years ago when she cooked a celebratory dinner for Michiru and Keiko when they graduated high school and got into their preferred universities.

She smiled a little sadly at the thought. Both her friends had moved away to another district to follow their dreams. Michiru working on her dream of becoming a highly sort after fashion designer while Keiko worked on becoming a high-end patisserie. She shook her head in an effort to snap out of it.

' _I may not see them as often as I use to, but that doesn't mean I love them any less'_ she told herself sternly. Just because they didn't see each other face to face didn't mean their friendship had crumpled. They talked weekly by skype and other media outlets. In fact, she was planning to go visit them during the Christmas break.

"Come on Mai, pull yourself together" slapping her cheeks to motivate herself "you're going to cook a kick ass dinner for Lin so stop being weighed down by unnecessary things"

Feeling fired up once more, she marched into the kitchen with purpose and began unpacking the bags. Separating the shopping into three parts, sides, main and dessert. The sides consisted of handmade Potstickers, a tradition Chinese dumplings and plate of Chicken Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce. For the main she was doing a traditional Chinese Hot and Sour Soup. To finish she was making a Durian Ice Cream for dessert.

She hoped Lin liked the dishes. She wanted to do something that would remind him of home since she knew he wouldn't find many Chinese foods around here, to remember home with. She prayed they held the same worth his helping her did. She had really gone out of her way to find the correct ingredients as well as an old recipe her mother her gave her before passing. Now all that was left was the assembling. Glancing at the time she saw she had wasted a lot of it tiding the house, so she rolled up her sleeves, brought out all the utensils she would need and cracked on.

An hour and a half flew by with Mai cooking, making use of all her equipment and ingredients. Cleaning up along the way.

 _ **Ding Dong**_ Mai head snapped up at the noise, panicked eyes searching out the clock. _'Oh my god I'm late! How can I be late?! For once Kami- Sama can you make me on time for something'_ She wailed internally, placing her knife down on the chopping board and rushed to answer the door.

Two steps from the door, in true Mai fashion she tripped over her own foot and slammed into the door with a shriek.

"Mai? Are you okay?" Lin's calm and collected voice floated through the door. Mai flushed in mortification ' _Why is this my life'_ she internally wept, throwing open the door, revealing her blushing dishevelled self to the immaculately dressed Chinese man.

"Hi Lin" she greeted merrily, smiling brightly at the man, playing off her fall as if nothing had happened "come on in" she invited, stepping out of the way. Hoping if she didn't address the issue then Lin would ignore her spaz attack.

It seems the gods were being merciful on her today, considering how the Chinese man indulged her whim.

"Thank you" he nodded politely, gingerly stepping to the small doorway. Trying to keep his judgment to himself.

He was in no way a snob, but he wasn't hopeful of what state he would find her living arrangements in. So far, he had to say he was subsequently impressed by the quality of the site she lived on as well as the district. It was small but a modest apartment, looking clean and in health, no signs of water damage or electrical faults by the look of it. A vast improvement from the image he had conjured up when he thought of her home.

It wasn't a lavish apartment like he was used to but neither was it a poor man's hovel, if he had to guess he would think it was a little out her price range, but then he didn't know if she got a deal on it, a kinda you scratch my back I scratch yours set up. He wanted to ask how she could afford it but the words refused to form, his gentlemanly behaviour preventing him. It was impolite and improper to ask such a privet and inappropriate question. He guessed it was one of things he would have to find out with time.

Seeing him looking around her home Mai closed the door and spread her arms open wide, beaming childishly at the man in front of her "Welcome to my humble abode" she grinned.

"Thank you" Lin tipped his head, eyes smiling for her.

"I just need to finish up chopping the veg for the soup and I will be right with you" she told him, skipping to the kitchen "My bedroom is the door on the left" she called over her shoulder, waving her hand in the vague direction down her hall before vanishing into another room.

Lin slowly made his way in the direction she pointed in, glancing at a few of the pictures that decorated the wall. Most of them were either period paintings – Something he hadn't expected to find here- and colourful plants and landscapes – exactly what he'd expected of the young women.

Soon he came across a standard brown door with her name carved in cursive script, painted gold on top of a white plaque mounted to the door. Surrounding her name were some Sakura blossoms, seemingly dancing beside her name. Looking a little closer he could see it had been freshly painted, making the colours striking and vibrant. The engraving looked old but well kept. It was obvious who ever made this put a lot of time and effort into the plaque and had been maintained with the up most care since.

Knowing he couldn't stay loitering in the hallway much longer he reluctantly opened the door to her room. It felt wrong to be doing this, like he was being rude and intrusive. Logically he knew he was invited in and was welcome in her space, but bedrooms were a private matter, an oasis from others and the worlds troubles. It had been drilled into him about propriety and manners his whole life, to suddenly go against them was rather unsettling.

Stiffly he walked into the room, lost on what to do. Now he was in here, should he open the draws and start pulling clothes out? Or was he just meant to wait for her? Shuffling awkwardly, he moved to stand in the middle of the room, absentmindedly noting how mature the room was during his inner panic.

He had assumed her room would be messy and disorganised. A mash of bright colours that would give you a headache at first glance. However, he was pleasantly surprised to see that her room mostly consisted of white walls, browns and silvers for the furniture and splashes of rich vibrant colours almost bursting like fireworks across the walls.

He'd worried he would have to help do some tidying before they even got to the main purpose he came for. It seemed he had judged her too hastily, from what he could see, the only thing that could be called a mess was the small pile of clothes on the bed, but even then, it was only three or four items, not something usually classed as a mess in itself.

He shifted his weight when his eyes fell on her wardrobe doors, hands twitching at his side. He didn't feel comfortable just standing here on his own, there was no way he was touching any of her property without her watchful eye and say so. It was safer that way, didn't give her the chances to accuse him of something ' _not that she would_ ' he internally snorted. Mai was one of the kindest, most empathetic people he had had the pleasure of meeting, if anyone would be bringing him up on charges it would be the neighbours who had watched him walk in to a young woman's home.

That's how Mai found him ten minutes later, awkwardly standing in the middle of her room, looking around blankly. The only reason she knew he was feeling awkward was the feeling he gave off, the slight stiffness in his stance, the rigidness in his back. She had seen that once before when she'd woken up after the Christmas case. She got the same feeling then as she does now, like he wanted to be there but didn't know what to do with himself.

"Shall we get started then" Mai clapped, startling her fellow assistant.

Lin jumped slightly at the sound, ruthlessly beating down his embarrassed blush, praying the teen hadn't noticed his reaction. Upon seeing the gleeful look she was directing at him, he knew his prayer had gone unanswered.

Giving her a filthy look, he pretended as if the last minute hadn't happened and nodded his head, amusing the adolescent.

"So where should we start?" she asked, stepping into the room fully.

"We'll start with jackets since they are one of the first things people see" he advised, stepping out the way so she could find them.

"Okie dokie" she chirped, moving to open the cubored to the left of her, before directing him to open the one beside him, also opening a drawer while he did so.

"Why do you have so many clothes?" Lin asked perplexed, opening the left-hand side of the closest to reveal dresses and skirts this time. If this was the jackets, he was dreading what the rest were like.

"Well, I buy all my clothes either when a big sale comes around or at a charity shop. Given how hard it is to find deceit clothing in a charity shop and shops only have one big sale a year where I can afford to get something, I bulk buy" she told him, opening a draw to reveal jeans.

"Plus, with the job we have I figured it was better to have too many clothes then not enough" she added thoughtfully.

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Lin grumbled good naturedly, mentally tallying up how many days and pens he would need to complete this job.

Mai gave him a funny look "In case you haven't noticed Lin, I am very accident prone and our job gets kinda messy. I figured in the year I was going to lose a lot of clothes either by becoming to blood stained and tatty to be seen out in public in, or they would be cut off by a paramedic"

Lin nodded in understanding, her reasoning made sense. He was almost surprised she had thought of that on her own.

"Hey, I know that look" Mai pointed at his face, a playful air about her "that's the face you get when you can't believe I've said something smart" she puffed her cheeks out in fond annoyance.

"My apologise Mai" Lin smirked "I will be sure to think better of you in the future" he teased her, chuckling lightly when she failed to supress a smile.

"I'd rather you not thanks" she grinned "I rather like the surprised looks I get to see on yours and Naru's face's when I'm intelligent for once. It keeps you on your toes" she winked giggling to herself as she went back to carefully emptying her draws. Making his eyebrow climb further and further up his forehead. He'd said jackets, so why was she opening them all?

"What are you doing?" he asked, slightly worried as to how much she expected them to do in a night.

"What do you mean?" she frowned, stumped on what could be confusing him. He waved a hand at the cloths she already had piled.

"Oh!" she giggled to herself "Since were taking the clothes out, I figured I might as well do a bit of moving around. I'm going to sort my cloths out by season, put the winters that fit in draws into draws and hang up what I can of summer, that way I'm not digging around all the time trying to find something cool or warm, I will just know where it is" she shrugged, he may not agree with her thought process but it made perfect sense to her.

All the taller man did was nod in understanding before beginning to grab the jackets out the wardrobe and lay them out onto the bed. Leaving her to do her sorting in peace, every now and then answering a question she may have or offering his own two sense to a story she would tell, enjoying the warm atmosphere they created.

"So, are you just putting what the main colour is on the jackets or are you putting every colour on the jacket?" she quizzed, coming up behind him to see how it was going.

"For the ones with too many colours, I put the three main ones." He showed her what he meant by picking up an example "if a jacket only has one to four colours, I write them all down in the order they come in" he picked up another and showed her the label. "that way you're not constricted by trying to match to one colour, you actually get to mix and match colours like you want to" he explained, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Oh, that's brilliant" she squealed, body practically vibrating with excitement and happiness.

Lin smiled indulgently, enjoying her moments of childish glee, it was refreshing to spend time with someone who found pleasure and enjoyment in the smallest of things.

Half way through labelling her jackets there was a knock at the door, allowing reality to pierce the bubble they had created. At the sound, Mai immediately dropped what she was holding and trotted up to open the door, an air of curiosity about her.

"Hello dearie" and elderly lady's voice filtered through the thin walls as Mai opened the door. Lin tipped his head in the direction of the door, carrying on with his work, lending half an ear in case she needed help.

"Hi Mrs Sato" Mai greeted jovially "How can I help you?" she questioned, tipping her head to the side slightly.

"I just want to come and check on you" Mrs Sato told the then warmly, reaching out her hand and holding Mai's "You youngsters these days need to be more careful" she cautioned, giving her hand a squeeze.

"Oh, I'm all right. I'm super-duper careful, especially since I'm such a cluts" she laughed, wrapping her other hand around the frail one in her hold.

"Well I saw an older gentleman in black knocking on your door earlier so I just wanted to make sure" The lady said, obviously relived as her hold slackened from its death grip.

"Oh" Mai said in realisation, eyes widening, a blush lighting up her cheeks "I'm very sorry, I should have warned you. That would have been my friend Lin. I've recently discovered that I'm colour blind so he's here to help me label my clothes" she explained, putting the elderly grandmother at ease.

"Ah, I see" she nodded in understanding "I'm glad to hear this is the case" she smiled warmly at the embarrassed teen in front of her. "I am sorry I disturbed your work".

"Oh no, not at all" Mai waved off with a laugh "I'm very happy to hear you were worried for me" her eyes twinkled "given how you couldn't stand me when we first met" she teased.

"Ah, you were quite the rumbustious child, always crashing into walls and making loud noises" Mrs Sato remembered fondly "You haven't changed much" she smirked playfully.

"No" Mai laughed with her "I imagine I haven't"

"It was all that wonderful cooking you would drop by the house every day on the way to school that finally warmed me up to you" She chuckled, shaking her head at the women before her. She was such a strange but kind child and it was heart-warming to see that hadn't changed as she aged.

"I always knew it was my cooking that did you in" Mai winked, "Speaking of, I've made Chinese tonight, would you like me to drop some over in about an hour or so for you and your husband?" she asked, stepping out of her door, linking her arms through the women who had become a grandmother to her and began to walk her back to her own flat.

"Oh, would you?" Sato grinned, smile widening "It has been a while since we sampled your Chinese dishes"

Mai laughed happily "Then I shall be sure to save you a big helping" she detangled them, having reached next doors door.

"You're such a kind and thoughtful girl Mai" Sato gave her cheek a light pat, smiling kindly.

"It's the least I can do for you. After all, you taught me how to do my house work properly and manage my books, without you I'd probably be on the streets" Mai reminisced, a grateful look on her face.

"Nonsense" Sato waved off the praise "You're a very smart girl, you would have worked it out without a nosy grandmother barging her way in"

"Well It doesn't matter now. You'd better get back to your husband before he works out he can sneak those sweets you don't allow him to have" Mai told her playfully, watching as she walked towards the door. Wanting to be sure she made it there safely.

The women snorted "If he knows what's good for him, he would have done the dishes" she chuckled, waving at the teen as she entered the house, closing the door behind her.

Mai shook her head at the closed door, that women was a riot. Although she did bring up a good point, she needed to be more aware of what was going on around her and what people would see. She was used to people judging, of making assumptions out of nothing, but she should have thought of how it would affect Lin and his respectability. The last thing she wanted to do was give him a bad name by coming to her house late at night to help her.

Entering her own apartment, she made her way back to Lin, intent on apologising for her naïve outlook on things, for not thinking of how it would look to others.

Upon entering Lin looked up and instantly knew something was wrong. Mai was wearing a look that usually suggested she was troubled and feeling guilty by something.

"What?" he asked softly, making sure to soften his eyes so as not add more to her problems. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off or cause more upset.

Mai shuffled nervously in front of the completed pile, unsure on how to word it. "I'm sorry for asking you to come this late. I didn't think on how it would look to others" she bowed, shame written across her face., eyes firmly fixed on the ground.

She heard movement from the other side of the room and assumed it was Lin getting up to lecture her on being aware of her surroundings again, so she was very surprised when she felt a feather light touch on her shoulder, dragging her upright and into a soft hug. It was awkward and uncomfortable but it was the best god damn hug she had ever received. She found herself missing it when he pulled away.

"I was already aware of all that you are worrying about, but was unconcerned because their views hold no importance to me. Just being able to help you in something was enough of a reason to disregard what other people might say" he reassured, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, face relaxed an open.

At his acknowledgment to her problem and reassurance that it wasn't, Mai felt tears well in her eyes "Thank you" she croaked, rubbing pathetically at her eyes, a broken laugh falling from her lips. "Now" she said once she had cheered up "let's get back to work" she cheered, pulling a small laugh from the stoic man in front of her.

"Naru will never believe that you can be happy about getting back to work" he smirked already moving back to the pile he was sorting.

Mai laughed again, this time stronger and more heart felt, making her expressive chocolate eyes twinkle.

They worked a few more minutes in a comfortable silence before they were disturbed again, this time by a timer going off.

"That will be dinner. Do you want to eat now or would you like to carry on?" Mai offered moving to a standing position having been kneeling beside her bed. Lin thought about it for a moment, finishing the article of clothing he was on.

"I think we've worked up enough of an appetite to eat now, don't you?" Lin side eyed her, retuning the piece of clothing to its correct draw.

Mai nodded, patting at her stomach hungrily "I'll go start dishing up, coming join me in the kitchen when you're done" she told him, waiting until he nodded and left to do as she said.

Lin used the remaining minuets to put the completed clothing back into their rightful places, placed the pen with the lid firmly shut upon the bedside cubored and followed her out into the kitchen, being greeted by the smell of home.

"Something smells good" he rumbled in a smooth baritone, voice slightly rough as memories assaulted him, stirred up by the welcoming scent.

"Could you set the table for me please? The chopsticks are in the draw there" she nodded towards the draw "the mats are already on the table".

Feeling a little out of place, he moved to do as she asked, grateful for the activity, he didn't want a repeat of earlier where he just stood about uselessly. Once done he moved back into the kitchen in time for her to pass him a tray with a large teapot and two cups "Carry that in" she told him, turning around to pick up her own that held an array of food.

Leading the way, he made his way back to the dining table and waited of to the side, the last thing he wanted was be in the way and put this down when she might not want it to be. Thankfully he wasn't waiting long because Mai dished out the bowls quickly before moving on to take the cups, poured out a tea each and put it between them. Soon the tray was taken out of his hand and he was directed to sit at the place set, Mai moving to sit opposite him.

Now that he could see the food she was carrying, he felt his eyes widen significantly at the sight before him. He knew he could smell them but he thought Mai had done the Japanese equivalent to the Chinese Potstickers. He felt his mouth water at the sight of his home food, feeling a vague pang of homesickness as he took in a deep breath.

" _ **Qǐng xiǎngshòu"**_ Mai told him softly in Chinese, no trace of an accent or ad perfect pronunciation.

Lin barley heard her, not even noticing she had spoken to him in his native tongue, instead he stuck right in, offering a silent prayer that this tasted as good as it smelt, hoping against all hope her tea making skills equated to wonderful cooking skills also.

Lin moaned around the first mouthful. Body relaxing in a way she hadn't seen it do before. As if the tension he carried across his broad shoulders vanished into thin air. It was an amazing look on him, she found it made him look younger, now that the tension around his eyes didn't age him.

"This taste's exactly how my mother makes it back home in China. She would make it us after a hard day learning the practising's of an Omnyoji" He reminisced fondly, picking up one of the spring rolls and lightly dipping it in the peanut sauce, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the memories it created.

"How did you come across an authentic recipe" he asked her in wonder, trying some of the soup.

"My mother. She originated from China and brought a lot of the family recipes with her. When she passed, she gave them all to me" she smiled down at the dinner she had prepared, blinking away the tears that came with the thought of her mother.

"Well I think you should take culinary at the local university" he told her as soon as he finished chewing. A childish glee shining brightly in his eyes "because this is sensational" he was curious to know more about her Chinese roots but figured now wasn't the right time to bring it up.

"Actually, I'm already taking that class" she told him shifting uncomfortably.

"I didn't know you were attending university" he said surprised "I know you mentioned school but I thought you meant during high school" he explained.

"No" Mai giggled" I had to wear a uniform for high school" she reminded "Its Uni I can wear my own clothes" she filled him in.

"Well I'm sorry I assumed you hadn't gone down the education route "he apologised.

"Nah its fine" she waved off "I didn't make a big song and dance over it, so unless you were watching me closely you wouldn't have known"

"Still" he said looking contrite "I should have made the effort to find out what you planned to do in the future" he insisted guiltily. Some many people made assumptions about Mai based on her career choice as it was. He hated knowing he had fallen into that category too.

"Well then I suppose I should tell you I'm actually taking four majors." She grinned, pleased she had managed to surprise him one again. "I know, it's a lot and not normally allowed but with my test scores they agreed to give me a trial run for the year to see how I will cope. So far, I'm excelling and am in the top two of all my classes, so for now I can continue with what I'm doing."

"W-what are you studying" he stuttered, dropping his chop sticks, officially losing his composure. eyes widening in shock as his mouth fell open.

"Culinary, Parapsychology, RE and sociology" she listed of on her fingers "I'm currently working towards doctrines in them" she told him "once they're done I plan to carry on and further my knowledge in Chinese as well as take a few more languages like Latin." She carried on thoughtfully.

"What university are you studying at?" he asked curiously, finding his composure again.

"University of Tokyo" she told him around a mouthful of food.

"How on earth did you get in there?" He exclaimed once again losing his composure, this time his eye bugged out of his head, an embarrassed flush working its way across his pale cheeks at the unsightly display he was currently giving.

That school was an ivy league school and was notorious for its strict rules who may enter and who may not. The university – Todai as it is known to the locals – was not somewhere he would have ever expected her to want to go to, never mind gain acceptance.

Mai threw him a dirty look "Did you even read my file Lin?"

He shook his head in denial. It hadn't been his job to check over the hires Oliver made, if there was something he needed to know he would have been told. Or at least that was his logic behind it, in truth he hadn't wanted to pry. He trusted in Noll to make the right decisions.

"Oh. Well I have an IQ of 188 and have an identic memory" "she told him simply, shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal "I know I come across as stupid but that's because I haven't learnt as much as you guys yet. Plus, I'm so accident prone that I trip over thin air, which people kinda use to base my intelligence off" she told him sadly.

"Which is wrong. I know a lot about life, I just choose not to shove it in people's faces" she spat angerly. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten before releasing it again.

"But at least I meet really nice people because of it" she said cheerfully, the dark cloud disappearing replacing it with her bubbly personality once more.

Lin hid a smirk behind another mouthful of food. Noll had been right, she really did go through the three stages. First, she got upset then angry before returning to her sunny disposition again, it was rather endearing to watch.

"Anyway, they had been the ones sending me my classes assignment so when I graduated, I was already on their register, it was rather easy to get in since I never left." She bit into a dumpling, chewed it a few times and swallowed "since I've been with them so long and they expect big things, they have given me a full scholarship, I only have to pay for food and transport" she told him happily, knowing from experience he would be worried how she juggled work, school and finances.

A silence fell over them as Lin digested the information being presented to him, slowly working his way through his soup "If you're so smart, why were you still in high school when we met" he smiled with his eyes for her, trying to show that the question was none judgmental, it was out of pure curiosity.

"I stayed in school because I liked the environment." She shrugged "You have to remember, other than work it was the only time I got to spend time with people." She pointed out, munching on a dumpling

"My school was good to me in that they gave me work well above my grade. I had my first two degrees at fourteen and could have graduated earlier but I chose to stay with my friends who I had known my whole life. I was taught a different curriculum to them but I always had one morning and afternoon class with my friends so I could experience the high school life as the school board put it" she admitted, polishing off the last of her soup.

"Didn't you ever wonder how I was allowed to work so many cases without it impacting on my school work?" she laughed delightedly at being able to still surprise the adult in front of her.

"I admit there were moments I wondered how you got away with it, but after the labyrinth case, I just figured they were very understanding about your…situation" he put delicately, explaining his rather blind-sided view.

"Oh, they were" she nodded, rushing to explain it all to him "but it was more that my grades could afford the time off to work rather then it being an understanding" she picked up her tea and had a sip, relaxing back into her chair, while Lin finished chewing on the last Dumpling.

"I am interested though" Lin thought aloud "What degrees did you get when you were fourteen?"

Mai moved restlessly in her seat, avoiding eye contact as she fidgeted. It made Lin curious and a little worried about what she could be hiding.

"English and Phycology" she admitted in a small voice, head bowed.

Lin felt his breath catch at her admission. That meant she could understand them when they spoke English around her, as well as read the paper work they left lying around.

"How much do you know?" he questioned carefully.

"I uh I know his name isn't really Kazuya or that he's from Japan" she admitted reluctantly "It actually made much more sense then what you originally told me. I mean his reaction to Naru was weird but if his name is Oliver making it Noll in English that works. As does him not being able to read or write in kanji. Not to mention his impressive display of power on the cursed house case we had back when I first joined" She rambled nervously.

Lin nodded at her findings "Have you made the connection?" he purposefully left the question vague in case she hadn't yet.

"That he's Oliver Davis, Kinda hard not to" she gave hm a flat look. He knew of her intelligence now, he didn't have to keep treating her like she didn't have a brain.

"Sorry" Lin apologized looking chastised, he hadn't meant for it to come out like that.

Mai held up her hand, shaking her head in fond exasperation "I know, this is a secret. You two are obviously here for a good reason and that reason must tie into you having to lie. I'm not going to tell anyone of my findings nor am I going to dig around for the reason. Your secrets are your own, to do what you wish with them" she told him maturely and reasonably.

"Thank you" he gave a relived sigh "and I must say, you are taking this remarkably well. We had expected you to blow up when we eventually told you" he told her surprised, moving to stand and help clean up. Mai threw him a grateful smile at the action.

"I know a thing or two about secrets" she gave him a sad smile, eyes focusing out for a moment before shaking her head, piling the dishes on to one of the trays "Plus" she gave him a cheeky grin "even I have moments of maturity"

Lin gave a small snort at her comment "Far and few between I know" she laughed, leading the way to the kitchen.

"But that's what makes you Mai" Lin complimented, placing the tea pot on the side and the cups in the sink, grabbing a tea towel to help dry while she washed.

"Why thank you" Mai sniggered, turning the tap on and pouring in some dish soap "I will take that as a compliment"

Conversation flowed easily between them as they did the dishes, Lin complimenting her once again on her outstanding cooking and thanking her for making the effort to do those dishes for him. She just laughed and said she was happy to do it, that she missed cooking for other people. Prompting Lin to offer to they meet up once a week to have dinner she could or even he could prepare. She was delighted with the prospect of spending more time with him and even offered to invite Naru since she knew he was responsible for him while in Japan. Again, Lin thanked her for her thoughtfulness and agreed to convincing Naru to come to the next dinner. By the time they were done it was almost eleven and Lin had to leave, promising to come back tomorrow to finish what they had started.

A short drive across Shibuya and Lin returned home in record time. Mind preoccupied with all that he had leant today. He had gone there with the intention of helping her and getting out, not wanting to push the boundaries they had created. Instead he was leaving with a better understanding of her and feeling closer for it. The bond they were cultivating wasn't quite friends but neither was it brotherly, it was something he couldn't really put into words or describe to someone.

"I'm Home" he called out on automatic as he entered the apartment, shutting the door softly behind him. He wondered down the light hallway into the kitchen, vaguely surprised to see his charge waiting for him in there.

"Welcome back" Naru greeted, leaning against the kitchen counter, a mug resting in his hands. "Did you get it all done?" He asked his assistant.

Lin shook his head, pouring himself a cup from the freshly brewed pot. "No, she surprising has a lot of clothes. Not all of them are of great quality mind you, but she defiantly has a verity of options. I've offered to go back tomorrow to finish up." He thought briefly of telling him she knew of their secret but thought better of it, he did not want to deal with a moody poltergeist this evening.

"Hey did you know her mother was Chinese?" He asked, momentarily side tracked, it had been running on a loop since she had mentioned it, plus it made better conversation then secret spilling.

Oliver shook his head in denial "She never mentioned it and it never came up on the check I ran on her" he looked down at his cup, lost in thought.

"She cooked me an authentic Chinese meal tonight and I'm pretty sure she spoke Chinese to me too" he thought aloud.

"Then how did you get that her mother was Chinese from it?" The teen raised an unimpressed brow at the rather drastic leap in logic his friend made.

"She told me. I asked where she got an authentic recipe and she said her mother brought them from China with her" he glared, not happy at being judged for no reason. He could see the adolescent losing interest in the conversation by the way he only nodded along with him, fraying interest.

"And her living arrangements?" the scientist probed, voicing the thought that had been – though he would deny it - worrying him.

"Not as bad as I was expecting it to be truthful. She's in an okay section of the neighbourhood and the apartment doesn't look like it's going to crumble down around her ears anytime soon" he answered honestly.

Oliver just hummed, taking a sip of his tea, face blank as a newly brought canvas.

"Why? What are you thinking?" Lin asked with a raised brow.

Naru gave him an indescribable look and walked away. Well that was a none answer if he ever saw one. Knowing it would do no use forcing the stubborn boy to answer the question, Lin let him go in peace. Although the Chinese man had a fair idea what was worrying the young lad and his scheming mind came up with a way to ease the youngers worries as well bringing the two closer.

He wasn't blind to Mai's moony eyes and Naru's softer temperament towards her and had noticed they seemed pretty blind to each other's feelings, which was ironic since they both had the IQ's in the hundreds and had keen eyes that picked up on the smallest of details.

He'd also noticed the book Mai had placed on her bedside the care and while she had been gone to talk to the lady he'd had a quick peak and saw that it was sighed and there was only one person he knew could get that for her. Naru may be able to fool everyone else with his cold and distant demeanour but he knew he had a soft spot for Mai and wanted to make her happy.

Smirking to himself, Lin left the Kitchen and enter his office, scheming to finally get the love birds together. In another room in the flat Oliver shivered a feeling of foreboding falling over him, he really hoped it wasn't another visit from Madoka.

 _ **Phew one chapter down, one more to go.**_

 _ **Qǐng xiǎngshòu is tradition Chinese for please enjoy. Or at least that's what google translate says, if I'm wrong please feel free to message me the correct wording.**_


	2. Chapter 2

At 10:00 Saturday morning, Oliver Davies - AKA Naru - was standing on Mai's door step waiting to be let in. He looked out at the view the apartment complex offered, face sour and eyes cold as he shifted impatiently. Cursing Lin for cancelling last minute, leaving him with no choice but to help since he was the only other person who knew.

Although he did have an alternative motive for coming – not that anyone needed to know that. He'd wanted to check out her living arrangements for himself. Not that he didn't trust the older man's words, he just wanted to put his mind at ease and what better way to do that then check it out himself. So far, his findings matched with the Chinese man's which was a weight off his mind.

"Just a minute!" he heard a familiar voice yell on the other side of the door, breaking his train of thought.

He rolled his eyes, he should have known that Mai's apparent lack of time would affect her life outside of work too. Just as he was about to scorn her through the door, he found it flying open to reveal a dishevelled Mai.

"Morning Naru," she beamed, practically vibrating where she was standing.

"Mai," he nodded, raising a brow, shifting restlessly where he was standing.

"Oh!" Her eyes widened, and cheeks flushed when she realised, she was being rude. "Please come on in," she invited hurriedly, stepping out the way.

"Thank you," he mocked, smirking when he saw her cheeks puff in frustration at his rudeness, he always did enjoy railing her up.

Mai huffed, rolling her eyes at his rudeness. ' _Who ever said Englishmen were gentlemen were insane'_ shethought to herself.

"I wasn't actually expecting you for another hour," she ground out, making a conscious effort not to slam the door behind him. She did _not_ need to give him any more ammunition.

"Oh?" Naru intoned looking around the home curiously, unlike Lin he had no sense of propriety or manners. He impolitely looked around every door, not that she would expect anything less of him. Naru always did strike her as one of those nosy controlling types.

"Lin said you wouldn't be here until eleven," she smiled tightly, eye brow twitching when he picked up on one of her framed Photos and took a closer look.

"Well I had nothing on and thought it best to get the work done as soon as for you," he said not unkindly, more a passing remark than anything.

"Thanks, Naru!" she beamed happily. ' _Aww he really does care'_ she gushed to herself privately. Unable to stop the goofy smile the thought conjured up.

"Of course," he side eyed her, a smirk working its way across his lips. "An idiot like you can't be left on their own too long," he put the picture back, shoving his hands in his pocket, posture relaxed.

' _Never mind'_ she thought angrily. ' _he's still a dick.'_ She brightened up slightly when she saw how relaxed he was in her home.

"What?" he asked lazily, dipping his head slightly to get a better look at her.

"Nothing," she shook her head, smiling shyly down at the floor. She had the feeling if she pointed it out, it would no longer feel like a safe haven to him.

"Bedroom?" he asked, brushing off her weird behaviour as Mai being, well, Mai.

"W-What?" she stuttered, face reddening. Did he have no shame?! What earth did he need to see her bedroom for?!

"Clothing Mai," he rolled his eyes, smirking at the flustered girl in front of him, holding up the pen to help jog her memory. Of course, she would take it in that context.

"Oh," she murmured blushing right to her roots. "Well don't say something like that so suddenly!" she shouted embarrassed, storming down the hallway and into her room, not even checking to see if he was following.

Oliver followed along at a more sedate pace, a smile threating to tug at the corner of his lips. Mai wouldn't be Mai if she wasn't prone to enraged out bursts. He was pleased to see she was feeling better after the shock she received yesterday.

"Now, what's left to label?" he asked, shrugging off his jacket, carefully folding it and placing it on the bed.

"We went through all my jackets and jeans last night, so it's just tops, socks and shoes," she listed off thoughtfully.

"You grab the tops and I'll grab the socks," Naru nodded decisively, moving towards the chest of draws.

Mai giggled to herself as she opened one of her wardrobes and began taking the tops out. With her back turned she only heard him open the draw and nothing else. Confused as to why she couldn't hear clothes rustling, she turned only to see her underwear draw open.

With a strangled screech Mai launched herself across the room and slammed the draw shut. "Um yes socks are in the next draw down," she told him, pitch high and squeaky as she flushed in mortification, fumbling to open the correct draw.

Turning to her boss she saw him staring wide eyed at the now closed draw, a delicate blush rising on his sharp cheek bones. She blinked, and the look was gone, replaced once again by his facade of indifference.

"You should consider buying more mature lingerie," he commented in a drawl, turning back to the chest of draws and began pulling out a few socks. Watching from the corner of his eye as Mai tried to collect herself.

Mai closed her eyes, ' _I will not kill my boss I will not kill my boss'_ she chanted in a mantra. ' _He would just come back to haunt me'_ she reasoned with herself. Opening her eyes, she glared daggers at the unfazed professor in front of her. Why did she like him again? She wondered to herself.

' _Because life would be boring without him,'_ a voice whispered in her mind.

The teenage genius giggled to herself, they weren't wrong. Without Naru she would probably be stuck in lectures she would have memorised the reading of the first day. At least this way she not only learnt improvised teaching in class but out in the field too.

Unaware she was being watched, Mai continued to think how lucky she was meeting the narcissistic teenager all those years ago. Meanwhile, Naru smirked to himself, Mai never failed to prove his theory, it was nice to see in his ever-changing life, one thing remained the same. He wouldn't tell her, but it was a relief to know she would always be by his side, a constant ray of light in his otherwise dark and lonely world.

However much he enjoyed watching the rather complex array of emotions play across her pretty face, they had work to do and knew from past experience that if they didn't start now, they would never get it compete.

"Mai," he called for her attention.

"Yes Naru," she chirped, directing her full attention to him. Past grievances forgotten.

"Tops," he reminded her, tilting his head in the direction of the open door.

"Right," she mock saluted, turning on her heel and marched to the wardrobe. She started from the back, slowly working her way forward, moving the articles of clothing to her bed, carefully laying them out into a neat pile. With each item she brought out, Naru felt his eyes widen. Disgustingly impressed by her large collections of tops, ranging from simple T-Shirts to silk blouses, the odd shirt thrown in between them every now and then. When she was done and stood expectantly in front of the bed, Naru could help but comment on the haul she had acquired over time.

"What on earth do you need with all these clothes?" if Naru had been the type his jaw would have dropped to the ground in astonishment.

"You know Lin said something similar last night," She informed him, looking over the rather impressive array of t-shirts. "And I will give you the abbreviated version. I need them," she told him straight faced, a look of seriousness in her eyes.

For once Oliver wasn't sure how to respond to something. In an absence of words, he just nodded his head dumbly and moved the conversation elsewhere.

"How do you afford this flat," Oliver blurted out, internally wincing at his social blunder. He had never been good at social ques and by the look on her face he had obviously made a big one. He wasn't afraid to ask, it was something he needed to know so he didn't spend nights worrying over it, he just knew he should have phrased it better or asked at a more appropriate time. Too late now though, in for a penny in for a pound as the saying went.

"Excuse me?" Mai asked for clarification, words coming out sarcastic and harsh. A dark look shadowing her eyes. Oliver found himself hating it and vowed never to see it again.

"Well I pay you, so I know how much you get. If I estimate how much you spend on necessities a week, I can get a bold part figure on what's left over for rent. If my estimations are correct- and they usually are- you shouldn't be able to afford an apartment in this district or quality" he reasoned out. Facts, he was good with facts. If he just stuck to them instead of wording, he should be able to weather this with minimal damage to their friendship.

' _Worried'_ a voice whispered to her. ' _He's worried'_ it elaborated. At the words Mai felt the anger drain away, she should have known Naru didn't mean anything rude by it. He was a curious man by nature, how could she expect him to come here and not wonder how she paid for it all.

Seeing the shadows leave her eyes, the warm welcoming look entering once again, Naru felt his shoulders drop from their hunched-up stance. Unconsciously relaxing from the defensive position his body had automatically reverted to at upsetting hr. He liked working her up not offending her. He wondered if it was a testament to their friendship that she could now work out what he was saying without really saying it.

"I'm good at managing my money. I only buy in bulk when items I need are on sale," she shrugged, hoping he would leave it at that.

"I know," Oliver frowned in thought. "You've mentioned it before when a big sale was on and asked to leave early. You explained it then." He reminded her, "but that still doesn't leave that much over."

Mai gave a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping. "I have another two sources of income," she admitted. There was no getting out of it now, she would have to tell him.

Naru's frown darkened, worry beginning to eat at him "What other income?" he asked darkly, his mess of emotions coming out as anger.

"I have an inheritance my parents left me," she told him. "It's all the money my mother and farther saved while they were alive. It's a small nest egg but I don't really like using it," she explained, regretting she had said she had two different incomes. ' _Why didn't you just say you had one Mai?'_ she groaned.

"And the other?" the narcissist demanded, brain rushing with scenario's and options. _'A second job maybe? Blackmailing? Does she have a gentlemen friend?'_ he questioned himself.

It was tiny, but if she looked hard enough, she could see the signs of worry and agitation in him. It wasn't much, and you had to know what to look for, but it was there. The tightness around the mouth and eyes, the shifted weight and rigged stance.

' _Hands look at the hands,'_ her inner phycologist murmured. Oliver didn't know it, but what his face didn't show his hands did. They were clenched at his side, fingers worrying his tailored trousers.

"I have a book published," she admitted with some confidence. She needed to show him she wasn't the child he met a few years ago. She was an independent woman and was proud of what she had achieved. She wouldn't shy away, not in this.

"A book," he raised a perfectly sculptured brow sceptically, the rush in his head quieting once again. "You have written a book?" he asked for clarification, scepticism clear in his voice.

"Two actually," she added smugly.

"I didn't know you published children's books," he assumed. He had seen a few of her sketches around the office, he'd always privately thought she had talent, he was pleased she was using her limited braincells to make use of her talent.

Mai gave a hysterical laugh, doubling over as tears sprung in her eyes. ' _Oh, this was gonna be gold_ ,' she thought amused.

"It's not a child's book Naru," her laughter giving her voice an interesting note. "In fact, you could class them as scientific." Oh she was loving the shocked look on his face. Eyes wide, mouth open slightly as if taking a breath. Hands impossibly still at his side. It almost made her wish she had a camera to document this rare moment.

Taking pity on him, she carried on and told him exactly what he wanted to know. "The books I've published are phycology books on long term trauma and how it shapes you later in life if not treated properly."

"I've read a lot of phycology books, none of them have your name on them," he thought aloud, grabbing at the first thing his brain could come up with.

"And you wouldn't. I went under a fake name," she told him, for once feeling like she was the one with all the control in this conversation.

"What name?" thoughts running a mile a minute, pulling up all the names of the authors he'd read, tallying them up to find something like hers.

"Mia Thomas," she answered dutifully, feeling sympathetic and a little gleeful. Now he knew how she felt when he had to spell things out for her.

Naru recognised the name, the author was well known and had both books as a must read for the lectures in Cambridge. His mother swore by it and was often re-reading it, making notes as she went along to try out in practice as well as to research more. It was hard to think Mai; his clumsy airheaded assistant was the mind behind the book. It was just impossible, simply impossible.

"But how? We only met three years ago, you were still in high school," he pointed out a desperate tinge to his words. He really _really_ didn't like not knowing things.

The desperation took Mai by surprise, she'd had assumed he already knew of her intellect. Surely it would have come up in discussion with the school when he hired her.

"Did the school not tell you?" Mai tilted her head, leaning forward, hands behind her back, trying and failing to hide the pleasure she felt at knowing something he didn't.

"No," Naru growled, arms coming up to cross against his chest in a defensive manoeuvre. "All that they mentioned was you were and A plus student who could afford to skip a few days a week."

"I graduated high school at twelve and I had my first degrees at fourteen. I remained in the high school prefecture because the school board felt I would mature better as a person if I associated with people my own age," she told him proudly, reviling in the impressed look he levelled her.

"Well your still an idiot," Naru huffed, arms relaxing back to his side at the revelation. He had millions of questions he wanted to ask but his brain was in a state of shock, the last thing he needed to was to blurt out a private thought in his thirst for knowledge, it would be safer to go away, make a list and come back when they had time to go into an in-depth conversation.

"Now that we have that out the way," Mai chirped having the same thoughts as him. One day she would go into detail but for now she was content to let him work it out on his own. "Let's get back to labelling," she cheered, turning back to the pile and picking up the first T-shirt.

"What colour is this?" she asked expectantly, holding up one of her more formal blouses.

"Well what colour do you think it is," Naru threw back on automatic, wanting to hit himself as soon as he said it, today really wasn't his day he thought, still reeling from the revelation his idiotic sectary was a certified genius.

Seeing the humour in it, Mai gave her tinkering laugh that instantly made Oliver feel better about everything and turned to give him an amused look. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it's not Blue," she answered, handing it to him.

"You're getting smarter and smarter every day," he teased, eyes smiling for her. "It is in fact a lovely shade of red," he informed her.

"Lovely? Well good to know that even my defective eyes can pick out colours you like," she laughed merrily, already picking up the next top while her boss wrote the colour on the label. "How about this?" she held it up to him once he was done.

"Yellow" he told her, accepting the offered top.

"No way! It the same colour as Johns hair, it has to be Green," she shook her head in disbelief.

Naru's lips twitched, eyes shining brightly. "You think John has Green hair," his voice had an interesting tilt. If she had to guess she would say it sounded like he was trying to supress laughter.

"Yes," she answered sulkily, crossing her arms defensively as a pout fell effortlessly across her lips.

"You are so..." Naru stopped eyes twinkling, "stupid" he finished. Mai faked an affronted gasp, reaching across to lightly smack his arm.

"You ass," she pretended to be hurt but her wide smile gave her away. Naru shook his head, hiccupping lightly, shoulders shaking. She assumed it was his version of a laugh. It was rather adorable. She loved moments like this, when he was her Naru. Sweet and part way open. Allowing himself to be relaxed and honest, something he rarely allowed at the office.

"What colour is Miss Matsuzaki' hair to you then?" he asked inquisitively, putting the finished piece down onto the bed, moving to sit cross-legged in the centre. Mai followed his example and made herself comfortable on the bed too, facing him.

"Kinda Blue but a lighter shade then the top. Why? What colour is it?" the ghost hunter inquired.

"A very deep Red," he hiccupped.

After that they carried on in a comfortable silence, Naru hiccup laughing everything now and then.

"Does that mean when someone blushes or has cold hands you see it as blue then?" he asked, by way of conversation. The scientist in him demanding her learnt as much as he could.

"Yeah," she answered honestly.

"Didn't that worry you?" he intoned.

"Not really," Mai shrugged. "To me it was normal and since I was studying how the mind works and how certain events have an effect on it, I never really thought much on it."

"Didn't it come up in something you read? Someone saying someone flushed red?" he probed, picking up the next top she had laid out for him.

"It did, but I thought it was describing something else. A little stupid and naive of me but I honestly thought it was meant to be blue. Thinking about it now, I realise it would have to be red since its diluted blood rushing to the surface." She admitted, smiling bitterly. "I had no idea I had this partial colour blindness," she told him, sounding bitter and resentful.

"It's understandable," Naru nodded. "You're not liable to notice something until it pointed out to you. Take me for example," he turned to her, eyes warm and gentle, willingly sharing something so personal with her. "I have Hyperacusis which means I'm sensitive to noise. It's why I don't like it when you are all being noisy at the office," his lips quirked slightly, taking the blow out of his words. "I didn't know we weren't meant to hear so loudly and keenly until I mentioned it to my parents and they said it wasn't normal."

Mai gave a horrified gasp, hand coming up to cover hear mouth, tears welling in her eyes. All this time they thought he had just been grumpy and trying to cause problems, when actually he was the one suffering.

"Oh, Naru I feel awful, I'm so sorry for causing you so much discomfort," she apologised, voice harsh and rough with emotion. Feeling guilty for thinking badly off him, especially for something he couldn't control.

"Its fine," Naru waved off uncharacteristically. "Just like you are, I have leaned ways to help me cope with day to day life. I didn't tell you to make you feel bad, I just wanted you to know you're not alone in perceiving the world differently." He soothed.

"What you have, it isn't bad. You shouldn't look at it as a curse, more like a gift god has personally selected for you to have. If you think like that, it makes the troubles you will face easier," he advised, "take it from someone who has had experience thinking of it both ways." He drew from his experience.

"Thanks, Naru," Mai smiled weakly, rubbing at her eyes to get rid them of their tears. She still felt awful for causing him problems, but it was nice to know she wasn't alone. It just wasn't the same hearing from someone they knew someone with a problem somewhat similarly, it was much more comforting knowing and meeting the person rather than just hearing about them. It was also nice to be given some advice. She was an optimistic person by nature, she knew if she gave it time, she would find the positives, just like he suggested.

"Want to hear what colour Madoka's hair is to me?" she asked hopefully, wanting to lighten the mood once more.

Naru nodded in consent, carrying on with the previously forgotten labelling.

"A very lightshade of Blue," she told him straight faced, breaking it a wide grin when she made him hiccup again.

"I will have to remember that and imagine it the next time she lectures me," he told her breathlessly, making Mai flush. She had always wondered what he would sound like breathless, she only hoped it would have been for a better reason. _'Bad Mai bad Mai,'_ she scolded herself, ignoring the laughter going on in her mind.

"And for your information her colour is a dark Pink, almost tipping on red, but I much prefer your colour," he smirked to her briefly before getting back to work, Mai following shortly after.

"Now I know what this is," Mai grinned, picking up a long-sleeved shirt, holding it up to Naru, waiting until he was looking at her before carrying on. "It's Brown," she announced proudly.

"Very good," Naru nodded indulgently causing Mai to preen at the praise. "Why don't you write the colour on that one," he suggested, holding the pen out to her, whipping out a spare he'd left in his trouser pocket. She hadn't even known they did pockets in tailored trousers.

Mai took the outstretched pen with flair and happily wrote the colour on the label, feeling quite proud and a little more confident in herself.

The news of her… inefficiently at seeing colour had knocked her confidence for six. She had always been conscious of how she looked and more so now that she knew how easy she could fuck things up. It made her hesitate in choosing what to wear, made her question what she was seeing around her. Being able to identify a colour correctly was a big thing for her and helped work towards gaining back the lost comfort in expressing herself creatively.

The two were startled by a knock at the door. Exchanging looks of confusion, wondering who it could be. Putting down their pens, they got off the bed and made their way down the little hallway, leading to her front door.

"Maybe its Mrs Sato coming to return my plates," Mai suggested.

"More likely a nosey neighbour who saw me enter and has yet to see me leave," Naru offered. "You know how people love to jump to the wrong conclusion. They will take something innocent and put a very different twist on it," he pointed out.

"That's true," she agreed. "Yesterday, Mrs Sato came over to see if I was alright after seeing Lin enter my home," she mused aloud.

As they neared the door the person knocked again, this time louder and more insistent.

"Alright I'm coming!" Mai shouted out in irritation. "Jeez, if they knock any harder the door will come off its hinges."

"If that happens at least your insurance would pay for it," Naru replied.

Mai gave a bark of laughter, a bolt of amusement flitting through her. "No, I would get the person who broke it pay for the new one," she told him mischievously.

Although his face remained impassive, his eyes smiled for her, pleased with her logic. The mask he wore on a day to day basics seemed weaker to her, allowing small glimpses of how he felt to trickle through. She didn't know if it was because she knew what to look for or if he was just comfortable with her, she hoped it was the latter.

"Come on then. Let's see who is demanding an audience with you," Naru stood to the left of the door, hiding him from view but still within access of helping her should something go wrong. Once situated Mai opened the door and instantly had the air knocked out of her.

"Mai!" Monk greeted excitedly, scooping her up into a hug and squeezing her to death.

"Can't breathe," the suffocated adolescent chocked, taking in greedy gulps of air when she was unceremoniously dropped again.

"Ow!" Monk cried hands coming to cover his head. "What was that for you crazy old bat?!" he rounded on Ayako.

"You're suffocating her you perverted old man," she snapped, purse clutched in the air, prepared for another strike.

"Old?!" he raged. "I'll show you old, you decrepit old biddy!"

The Shrine Maiden's face contorted into an ugly sneer, marring her once perfect features, an angry blush beginning to make itself know.

"Now now," John placated, stepping between them. "This is Mai's home, we would not like to disrupt its serenity by bringing violence in, now would we?" he asked rhetorically, speaking to them as if they were a child.

The two shook their heads, lips pursed shut as they were chastised. Something about the calm, mild mannered priest had them instantly listening to any command he gave, no signs of their usual defiance anywhere about their person.

"Obviously someone forgot to mention that to them _before_ they arrived," Naru murmured behind her, warm puffs of air tickling the back of her neck as he spoke int her ear. She supressed a shiver but knew she hadn't been successful when she felt a large breath ghost across her neck, she assumed that his version of a snort.

"John, Bou-San, Ayako!" she greeted merrily, straining to see behind them. "And I see you brought Yasu and Masako with you," she waved to the two, receiving an enthusiastic wave in return from the spectacled teen.

"What can I do for all of you?" she inquired, holding the door open for them so they may enter her home.

"This idiot here," the red head gestured to the ponytailed man. "Says he saw Naru enter your place this morning," she threw him a dirty look.

"I did!" he insisted, the others ignored him. They had obviously not believed him.

"So we came to see if he…" she trailed of as she enter the apartment, going stock still, mouth dropping open as she turned to take her shoes off, seemingly staring at the wall behind the door.

"Miss Matsuzaki," Masako's cool voice spoke, trying for the fiery women's attention. When she received none, Yasu barged forward to see what she was fussing about, poking his head around the door to see what could make a woman like her stop dead in her tracks.

"Oh, ho ho ho, what do we have here," the light gleamed off his glasses a positively evil smirk sliding into place. "If it isn't our big boss, Naru," he announced gleefully.

Seeing trouble heading their way Mai quickly ushered the rest on through, practically pushing the catatonic priestess into the living room and into a seat. Allowing the other to file in after and pick their own, choosing instead to remained standing in the centre of the room, allowing her body to somewhat obscure their view of their boss, who was propped up against the wall beside the door way. The picture of calm and peacefulness, or he would have been if she couldn't see the tension in his clenched jaw and the tight grip he had on his forearms, posture defensive.

"Why is Naru here?" Monk asked aggressively, body turned towards the young man, ready to jump to his feet in an attempt to defend the females honour.

"Calm down, Naru is just covering for Lin," Mai rolled her eyes in fond annoyance, catching site of Ayako's gleeful look at realising they had been alone together, Masako having realised the same thing glared frostily at her. However, her glare had nothing on Naru's, so Mai was unfazed by the threat she possessed.

"Then why would Lin be here? They haven't done anything to you have they? Asked you to do inappropriate things?" he asked worriedly, still on the defence, pulling her attention back to him. His need as a big brother to protect her in full swing.

"What?! No!" Mai shouted appalled, angry they had even thought of such a thing. Monk relaxed marginally at her seriousness. "While in my house, you will not speak so poorly of people. Especially not Naru or Lin!" she snarled, hands balled into fists, body shaking with the effort to not throttle the ignorant man before her.

Monk held up his hands in peace offering but it was too late, the damage had been done. "You are right, that was wrong of me. I am sorry I said such things," he apologised sincerely, sound contrite. "But you have to see it from our point of view. You are strong young women Mai, who lives alone. You wouldn't be the first person taken in by a kind boss and you certainly wouldn't be the last," he reasoned seriously.

Mai closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding it for the count of six and letting go at the count of seven. "I know you mean well, but that doesn't give you the right to demand answers of me and make slanderous allegations against people who have done nothing but help me," she told him calmly, a bite still detectable in her tone. _'Assholes'_ she and a voice said simultaneously, causing the corner of her lips to twitch.

It was quite for a moment, nobody knowing what to say.

"Well big boss, now that Mai has straitened the idiot out, mind telling us why your taking Lin's place?" Yasu broke the silence, addressing Naru, steering the topic off the land mind Monk had driven them on, back to safer pastures.

"Lin had a pressing matter come up early this morning. Naturally, I offered my serviced in his place," Naru told them blandly, giving them no less then they needed to know.

"Oh, and pray tell, what were these services you offered her?" Yasu wiggled a brow, a lecherous smile falling easily across his lips.

"That is of no concern to you," his boss told him icily.

' _The barbs were out nice and early I see'_ Mai groaned, rolling her eyes.

"He's helping me label my clothes if you must know," Mai informed them, pulling a face at the glare she received. _'You might be able to get away from their intrusive questions but I'm not'_ she glared back.

"Why on earth would you need to label your clothes?" Ayako demanded to know, her inner glee forgotten for a moment.

"Because I'm colour blind," Mai told her gently. "I can't accurately tell all colours apart. Naru is helping me by putting what the dominant colour on the piece of clothing is, so in the future I don't have bizarre colour clashes like I have been," she explained reluctantly, feeling a headache coming on.

She hadn't even fully accepted this was happening to her yet, she wasn't really in the mood for sharing but knew from past experiences they followed after Naru in that regard. Once he'd gotten hold of something, he never let go until he investigated it to death. It was one of the attributes she admired in them, just not when it was being directed at her. Her best bet was either A) stall for time with diversions or B) come out and say it. In the long run option B always worked best she found, meant she had a lot less to deal with in the wake of them finding out the real reason, avoids the whole 'How could you' look caused by lying.

For the first time since they had met the group were collectively silent. In too much shock to make a hullabaloo like they usually would. Feeling awkward and unsettled by the revelation. The atmosphere heavy and tense. She felt like they were now walking on egg shells around her.

Yasu was the first to snap out of it, getting up from the couch to give her a tight hug, chin resting on her head, looking as if he was about to cry, face droopy like a kicked puppy.

"Life can be so cruel," he whispered.

"Oh Kami- Sama," Monk gasped horrified. "Are you serious?" he quizzed in disbelief, tears welling in his eyes when she nodded grimly. The world never seemed to stop shitting on Mai, constantly throwing her the wheel of misfortune.

Ayako and Masako looked away, shame faced, eyes guilty and body language indicating they were upset. Whenever Mai would leave a room, they would gossip and critique her colour choice. Now that they knew it was a legit problem, they felt awful for talking smack about their friend. They should have seen it sooner, should have noticed that someone wouldn't have such a bad choice in colour coordinating without a reason behind it.

John however, looked as if a theory he'd had had been confirmed. Eyes understanding, face lacking the astonishment the others had, just acceptance and empathy. Hurting for his friend, knowing how much of a shock it must have been to hear and how heart-breaking it must have been to know another thing had been taken from her.

When Yasu finally pulled away, Mai looked around, analysing her friends faces, profiling their reactions to the news. Their reactions were a little disheartening and made it difficult to spin a positive light on in it. If she was honest, she had been expecting better from them. She had expected support and understanding, of cheering her up and pointing out the benefits, not this horror stuck look that made her think she had just told them she had died. She understood herself crying, after all she was the one suffering with it, but them, they had no reason to cry. Their lives were fine, it didn't impact them in any way to cause them distress. Perhaps they were sad for her, she tried to excuse but even then, that sounded weak even to her own ears.

Her eyes fell on John and noted that unlike the others he wasn't acting as if she had told they could never drink her tea again, in fact he was acting as if it was relatively normal thing to expect. There was a sadness their but more for her own thoughts on the matter rather than his own beliefs, if that made sense.

"You knew," Mai stated more then asked, but John nodded in consent none the less.

"I had my suspicions, but you seemed happy in yourself, I saw no reason to cause you distress by bringing up something that at the time wasn't impacting your life negatively," he smiled gently, eyes soft with understanding. An uncomfortable silence fell over them again.

"It's not like this is bad news," Masako pipped up, mouth hidden behind her Kimono sleeve. All eyes in the room turned to her bewilderment. "Think about it. We always knew Mai was special with her bubbly personality. Now with this unique vision she can see the world differently. I envy that," she said softly, her cold demure vanishing for the moment, taking with it the heavy gloomy atmosphere. A lighter, fresher one taking its place.

"Me too," Ayako chipped in, wanting to make up for the wrong she had made against the teen, even if said teen didn't know they had been done. "Imagine how fun it would be to wake up and have your clothing a mystery. Hearing what colour's, it is to different people."

"Ooh, could you imagine the fun you would have with it," Yasu said mischievously, the light reflecting off his glasses. "Confusing people. You're adamant it's one while they're admit it's the other, just to see how long it take for them to have a meltdown," he chuckled evilly, causing the rooms occupants to shuffle as far away from his as possible, in fear of what he might do.

Mai sniggered at his roundabout way of cheering her up, successfully breaking the awkwardness that surrounded them. "I think I would just wind up confusing myself more than the person," the comment caused a round of laughter with nodes of agreement. This was what she had been expecting of them. She was happy to see they hadn't failed her expectations yet.

"Well, we better be off," Ayako sighed, moving to stand. "We only came to see if this idiot was talking truth. We didn't mean to impose on your time," she winked.

Mai flushed. "Ayako" she whined, hiding her face in her hands. "You're more than welcome to have a quick cup of tea," her voice muffled by her hands, the manners her mother instilled in her coming back full force.

"Nah, were just passing through," they refused.

"Maybe next time" Monk stretched.

"I would like that," Mai smiled softly, looking forward to the time they could spend time together again. Saying their goodbyes, she walked them to the door and saw them out like the good host she was. Closing the door with a relived sigh.

"I love them but sometimes they get on my nerves," she turned to her boss, smiling sadly at him. "I'm sorry for what they said. They don't tend to think things through," she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. She wasn't really excusing what they did, more like trying to mend the bridge they had broken unintentionally.

"Its fine I'm used to it," he monotoned back, face closed off to her, but she knew that wasn't true. It wasn't something you were okay about or got used to.

"Don't lie to me," she snapped, angry at him for hiding, angry at them for being insensitive assholes. "Don't pretend what they said didn't hurt because to me and anyone who has a pair of eyes, you are the most caring, kindest, smartest, strongest person I have ever met," her eyes stung. Putting everything into her words, wanting him to understand what she was saying with everything she had.

"So, don't lock how you're feeling away. Don't lie to my face when I know your anything but okay." She shook her head, hands gripping at the hem of her skater skirt, eyes closed. "You are important to me so don't listen to what they say. You are none of those things they ungraciously accused you of and I will spend every minute of every second of the day to prove this to you!" she declared fiercely, chest heaving, voice cracking in places as she refused to cry. Making a conscious effort not to shout so as not to set off his sensitive hearing.

There was silence, the only sound of Mai's laboured breaths of anger filling the room. Since her eyes were closed, she hadn't known Naru had moved until she was being enveloped in a pair of warm, strong arms. Pale hands coming up to cup the small of her back and to tuck her head into the crook of his neck.

"Thank you, Mai," he whispered, voice gravely, throat tight with emotion. She reminded him of Gene in so many ways. Head strong, defiant, mischievous, sensitive to those around her. Just a good person in general. It was times like this that made him miss his brother the most, when he would catch glimpses of him in her. It both soothed him to bask in a similar aura as well as crippled him. To have something so close but nowhere near the same.

Mai allowed herself to enjoy the hug for a few seconds before pulling back, it was dangerous to give into her temptations. She knew if she got a taste of what he could offer, she would never be able to walk away the same.

"Tea?" she asked, knowing it was one sure fire way to cheer up a tea addict.

"I thought you would never ask," he smirked, feeling more like himself. Mai was pleased to note the tension he had had cultivated while the gang were here was slowly beginning to disperse again, leaving her with the lazy, relaxed Naru she had grown used to seeing in the last few hours.

Hours ticked on by with them making head way. Several cups of tea later and relaxed stimulating conversation on how scientific finds should be catalogued and written up, they finally sat back against the sofa, a takeaway laid out around them, curtesy of Naru, feeling accomplished.

Thanks to Naru and Lin, Mai's choice in clothing attire were much more coordinated now and didn't feel so self-conscious in what she was wearing. Over the weeks she slowly became more confident in herself and her 'disability' as other labelled it when they found out. Just like Yasu had said, she had found way to gain pleasure in her unique outlook and as Masako said, it gave her a prospective nobody else could see and to her that was special.

They were lots of people around the world who could see spirits, and a lot of people who had Colour Blindness, but nobody had it quite like she did and it made her feel unique, like an individual and not another one of the masses.

Don't get her wrong, sometimes it was a disadvantage more than an advantage and there were still moments where it upset her and caused frustration. She liked knowing she wasn't the only with the same sort of problem, but she also liked knowing nobody would have it exactly like her.

When she had mentioned this to Naru in passing he had rolled his eyes and gave her that trade mark all-knowing smirk and strangely, it felt like agreed with her and that was reason enough to love her gift from God.

 _ **Hey guys! I would really like to thank Leanne5582 for suggesting a sequel. I would never have thought of doing this or even some of the parts I've used. So a big round of applause for her *clap clap clap clap***_

 _ **I would also like to tell you that after writing this, it had sparked a long story I would like to. Mai will still have Colour blindness, so it will follow on from this. I won't reveal too much. But be on the lookout for it in the new year.**_

 _ **Anyway, thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day/night!**_

 _ **Sweet Dreams xx**_


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